The present disclosure relates generally to spatiotemporal dithering, and more particularly, to spatiotemporal dithering in electronic displays.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Liquid crystal displays (e.g., LCDs) are commonly used as screens or displays for a wide variety of electronic devices, including such consumer electronics as televisions, computers, and handheld devices (e.g., e.g., cellular telephones, audio and video players, gaming systems, and so forth). Such LCD devices typically provide a flat display in a relatively thin and low weight package that is suitable for use in a variety of electronic goods. In addition, such LCD devices typically use less power than comparable display technologies, making them suitable for use in battery powered devices or in other contexts where it is desirable to minimize power usage.
LCD devices typically include thousands (e.g., or millions) of picture elements, e.g., pixels, arranged in rows and columns. For any given pixel of an LCD device, the amount of light that viewable on the LCD depends on the voltage applied to the pixel. However, applying a single direct current (e.g., DC) voltage could eventually damage the pixels of the display. Thus, to prevent such possible damage, LCDs typically alternate, or invert, the voltage applied to the pixels between positive and negative DC values for each pixel.
To display a given color at a given pixel, the LCD device may receive 24-bits of image data, whereby 8-bits of data correspond to each of the primary colors of red, green, and blue. However, as the transition time for these displays have increased, pixels receiving 24-bits of data may not transition to a new color rapidly enough, which may lead to an undesired effect on the image termed “motion blurring.” To minimize this motion blurring, response times of the LCDs may be increased. One manner in which to improve response times of the LCDs may include receiving 6-bits of data corresponding to each of the primary colors instead of 8-bits.
The reduction of data bits corresponding to colors may allow the pixels of the LCD to transition from one level to another more rapidly, however, it may also reduce the number of levels (e.g., e.g., colors) that each pixel may be able to render. To overcome this reduction in levels, dithering of the pixels may be performed. Dithering of the pixels may include applying slightly varying shades of color in a group of adjacent pixels to “trick” the human eye into perceiving the desired color, despite the fact that none of the pixels may be actually displaying the desired color.
The use of dithering may allow LCDs that receive 6-bit color data to simulate colors achievable by 8-bit color data LCDs. However, use of dithering may, in combination with the LCD inversion techniques discussed above, lead to generation of visible artifacts on the LCD. It may be useful to provide more advanced and improved image dithering techniques.